Sawasdee kha (hello) and welcome to Chiang Mai, Thailand! We arrived in Thailand yesterday afternoon after a full day of travel. Chiang Mai is Thailands second largest city, with a population of about 200,000. The city is located in the northern mountainous area and said to have a very laid back vibe. Although we are sad to miss the famous beaches of Thailand, we are extremely excited to explore this part of the country. Chiang Mai is home to over 300 temples and is surrounded by lush, jungle covered mountains. It is known for it’s phenomenal food and bustling night markets. We are already making our list of things to discover here!
Our Journey to Thailand – With a Few Errors Along the Way
We left our Airbnb in Vietnam in a rush, which is very unlike us. Dave had prescheduled a Grab for 5:45am, and the time snuck up on us. So far, we haven’t discovered anything important we left behind, but it’s never fun to leave in a rush. We had a connecting to flight in Bangkok, which made for a pretty long travel day. Once arriving in Bangkok, we followed the signs for immigration and got in the very long line for those with foreign passports. We waited in that line for over an hour only to discover we were in the wrong spot.
The airport staff were very helpful. After asking a second time where exactly we needed to go and weaving our way against traffic, we made it to the correct spot. Because we had a connecting domestic flight, we had to go to a separate area. We were the only ones there and breezed through immigration and back through security in about 10 minutes. We had just enough time to get something for lunch before our next flight boarded.
When we got off the plane in Chiang Mai we were surprised to see an airport employee holding a list with our name on it. They gave us a special sticker that sent us straight to baggage claim, since we had already gone through immigrations in Bangkok. We had to wait a while for our bags, but we used the time to get local currency and see how much a Grab ride would cost versus using the local taxis.
The Grab was going to be more expensive than a taxi, so we went with the local taxi. The driver helped us load our bags and then we all climbed in. Dave went to get in the front passenger seat and opened the driver side door (the steering wheel is on the opposite side). The driver just laughed at us. He spoke excellent English and pointed out various sites as we drove to our Airbnb.
Our New Home Away From Home
Our Airbnb is one of the most unique we’ve stayed in so far and we LOVE it! Usually a place is slightly less nice than the pictures, but this place is the opposite. It’s a bottom floor apartment and there’s a lovely shared courtyard.
The style is best described as modern/industrial. There’s beautiful exposed brick throughout the condo, amazing ambient lighting, and tall ceilings with exposed duct work. The furniture is super comfortable and the decor is very tasteful. The kids both slept for 12 hours our first night. I was beyond excited to use the provided robes and the host had coffee already waiting for us when we arrived. Less than 24 hours here and it already feels like home!
Crisp Air and Green Mountains
We are visiting Chiang Mai during the perfect season. The days are in the 70s-80s, with cooler evenings in the 60s. The air was very crisp and refreshing this morning as we went out to explore! Our Airbnb is right next to Chiang Mai University, where we will have endless good walking options. It is a huge campus, with about 35,000 students and there are giant mature trees everywhere.
We stumbled upon the Ang Kaew Reservoir and this will be a fantastic place for running. This is just the dose of nature we all need after being in some very populated cities.
Settling Into Chiang Mai
We are quickly getting settled in. Dave and I walked to a large grocery store today and took a tuk-tuk back home (we bought too many groceries to carry). We enjoyed some delicious Thai food at the restaurant right next door to our Airbnb for lunch. So far, we’ve encountered a lot of English during our outings, but we are still using our Thai phrases whenever appropriate. Fun fact about the Thai language, to make things sound polite you add a different particle at the end based on the speaker’s gender (“kha” if you’re female and “krup” if you’re male). It’s also appropriate to put your hands together and bow, which Alexis and I love!
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I can’t believe you are already in your new country. It sounds like it is going to be a good month! How is the humidity there? Comparable? Micah and I just finished reading “all thirteen” about the cave rescue of the futball team in the mountains of Thailand. It was interesting learning about the mountain regions there. I know it is not even in the same place as you right now, but it still made me think of you! Be careful about going spelunking! 😉
I can’t believe we are already in a new country either – it’s going so fast! The weather is fantastic. There’s some humidity, but it really feels like we are back in Colorado at times. Especially early morning! I’ve heard of that book, and watched the documentary. I’m going to have Braxton read it! No spelunking on the agenda – ha! Hope you’re doing well!
Look at you guys just successfully navigating yourselves around the whole entire world. Just insane the amount of confidence and skills you e leaned in travel logistics alone!
This looks so promising with your accommodations and big grocery stores and I’m so excited to see what this stay holds. 💕